


Twice in Love

by yourstrulyhn



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, College Students NCT, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fanfiction, Fluff, M/M, Other, Rivalry, Twins, nct - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:07:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28855566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourstrulyhn/pseuds/yourstrulyhn
Summary: "Jokes on you, you two get married."
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Reader
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

It was a day like any other.

The kitchen was filled with an aroma that wafted throughout the house, signaling the start of breakfast. The sun rays peeked through the curtains and the birds sang their songs outside the window. The radio played a soft and familiar melody to accompany the chef in the kitchen as he worked. The sounds of the tv blasted in the background, but that did little to distract the man.

That was until a thud, followed by a groan echoed into the kitchen. Dongyoung turned his attention away from the stove and to the person who entered the kitchen with heavy footsteps. His eyes traveled up to his partner’s face who looked anything but pleased. He smiled.

“Come.”

You let out a huff as you accepted his open arms. Resting his cheek against you, he held you gently in his arms and patted your back.

“What’s the matter?”

You shook your head, not wanting to answer. He sighed.

“Y/N, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

“Meditation is hard, Dongyoung!” You hugged him tighter, burying your face into him. He let out a laugh and shook his head.

“That’s because you can’t relax. You’re too scatterbrained to do something as peaceful as that.” He stuck his tongue out at you when you pulled away to glare at him. You huffed and stepped away from him, turning away. You crossed your arms and refused to look at him.

“I can do it, you know! Just watch me!”

“Yes, yes. I know you can.” Dongyoung gave in and wrapped his arms around you. He kissed your temple as he smirked at your frowning face. He further provoked you by patting your head like you were a child. “There, there.”

Irritated, you put your foot down. “Dongyoung!”

Having enough fun teasing you and not wanting to face your wrath, he spun you around to face him. He placed a kiss on your forehead, hoping to make amends. It worked, but only a little. You huffed and turned your head, glancing at him in the corner of your eye.

“Aw, don’t be like that. I’m sorry,” He said and trapped you in his arms. A barrage of kisses was placed on your face as he tried to show you how sorry he was. You let out whines and complaints before giving in to his love. You tapped his arm once you couldn’t stop laughing.

“All right, all right! I get it already! I give!”

“Am I forgiven?” He asked. He stopped kissing you but still had yet to let you go.

“Yes!”

With one last kiss on your lips, his arms went up in the air and released you. You rolled your eyes, shaking your head.

“Ahem.” Someone cleared their throat, interrupting the both of you. You and Dongyoung turned your attention to the doorway where your twins stood, and you fondly smiled at them. Your son, Dongbin, was barely awake, yawning and scratching his stomach while his sister, Dahyun, stared at the two of you in disgust.

“Can you please remember that you still have kids at home? I know you’re eager to be alone again, but we haven’t left for college yet, you know?” She grumbled, walking to the cupboards to help set up breakfast. Dongbin followed in tow, giving her a hand.

“It’s like they do it on purpose,” He yawned.

“I wouldn’t doubt it.”

You and Dongyoung shared a look, then laughed.

“It wasn’t always this way, you know?” Dongyoung said, making the kids loudly groan. It sounded like another one of their father’s old stories that always ended in a lesson somehow. They were too tired, and it was too early for another story. They didn’t want to hear it. But unfortunately for them, they were going to hear about this one.

“That’s right. Your father and I actually hated each other when we were younger.” You nodded.

Dahyun looked over her shoulder and scoffed. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Yeah. You two have always been over-the-top affectionate with each other since the day we’ve been born,” Dongbin supported his sister. “It’s really gross to see if I’m being honest.”

“Sorry to say, but there is just nothing you can say or do that will convince us otherwise.”

“Then, go ask your uncles if you don’t believe us,” Dongyoung said as everyone sat down at the table. The twins shared a look and shrugged. They didn’t want to argue about it anymore, so they left it at that and made a mental note to ask for confirmation.

As breakfast was wrapping up, you asked the twins if they finished packing for their moving-in day. Looking anywhere that wasn’t you, both denied packing even a single thing. You sighed. There were only a few days until they left and they tried to push it to the last minute. You ushered them up to their bedrooms while Dongyoung did the dishes. He’d later join you and the twins in the chaos of finding enough boxes for everything.

After hours of arguing with the twins about what to pack and what to leave behind, packing for college was finished. The living room was filled with a mountain of boxes and the four of you stared at the pile.

“Yeah, I think we’re going to have to keep more stuff at home,” Dongyoung said and the twins sighed. They already had a hard time trying to choose earlier and now, it had to be even less. So, the process of unpacking and packing ensued again.

“Dahyun, you do not need two boxes of your CDs. Keep these at home.” You raised an eyebrow at all the albums she accumulated over the years.

“No, they have to come with me!” She huffed, stuffing them back into the box. Between your twins, she was more like her father who shared a love for music. As soon as she learned how to speak, she began to sing along with Dongyoung whenever he sang around the house. It didn’t surprise you that she couldn’t part with the albums, so you let it be.

“Dongbin, what-” Dongyoung held up a box of ramen packages and coffee bags.

“Like Hyun said, essentials.” He shrugged, then turned his attention back to other boxes. You and Dongyoung looked at him in disbelief before turning to Dahyun for help.

“Please don’t let him.” You begged.

“Yeah, yeah. I know, I’ll take care of it.” She waved her hand as her parents let out sighs of relief. Dongbin often fell into unhealthy habits, so having Dahyun with him made you feel better.

The second round of packing finished, and the pile was reduced to a bearable amount. Next, you had to load the boxes into the van for tomorrow’s long drive to the campus. You had two options. Either squish all the boxes into one car, but the twins would have to sit in questionable positions that would cause them back pain for the rest of their lives or take two cars and nobody would end up with back pain. You chose the latter.

“Wait, so about our conversation earlier. Were you two actually serious about hating each other?” Dongbin asked as you helped him load his boxes into your car. You chuckled and nodded.

“So much that we couldn’t even stand being in the same room together. If we had no choice, then we’d be arguing within five minutes about something.”

His eyes widened. “It was to that extent?”

“Oh, yeah. Our rivalry became so well known throughout campus that even the professors knew about it. I even heard that every semester, they hoped and begged they didn’t have the two of us together. Some of them were unlucky in that aspect though, but they managed somehow. I hope.”

Dongbin grew quiet, looking down at his shoes in thought. You moved a stray hair out of his face and waited for him to gather his words. He looked up at you.

“It’s just weird to think about how different it was back then compared to now. Sure, the two of you bicker here and there, but then you get all lovey-dovey again. How did you go from fighting all the time to getting married and having us?”

“Well. After we looked past our bitter feelings, we realized we didn’t dislike having the other around. So, we had a long, long talk about where we were going to go from there and the rest is history.”

“Sounds like a lie.” Dahyun poked her opinion in. Dongyoung walked up to her and ruffled her hair, making her whine.

“You brat,” He said as she looked up at him and stuck her tongue out. “No matter how many times we tell you it’s the truth, you’re not going to believe us unless you were there yourselves.”

“And see you two being lovey-dovey even back then? No thanks.” Dahyun sternly shook her head. 

“Well, now that we’re finished with everything, let’s go back inside to have family night.” You clapped your hands together, bringing the attention back to you. Hearing about the plans for the rest of the night, the twins groaned. You pouted. “Hey. We only have a few days left until the two of you are going off to college.”

“Yeah, you never know when the next time we’ll be all together again,” Dongyoung said, coming to your help.

Dahyun and Dongbin shared a look, then turned back to you.

“What are you talking about? We’re coming back for breaks and holidays,” Dahyun scoffed.

“You two are making it sound like we’re dying or something.” Dongbin shook his head as he walked inside with his sister in tow. Even though they were dragging their feet and too embarrassed to admit it, you knew they were going to miss spending time together as a family.

Dongyoung wrapped his arm around your shoulders and pulled you into his side, then kissed you on the temple. You sniffled.

“Darling, look at you. What are you getting so emotional about?”

You frowned and punched his arm, making him laugh. You turned away from him to hide your tears, but he knew better. Tilting your chin up with his finger, he gently wiped away your tears and kissed you on the forehead. Then, he pulled you into his arms.

“Let’s just enjoy the time we have with them right now rather than focusing on the fact they’re leaving for college.”

“Mn.”

“If you two are done being all gross with each other, Dongbin finished setting up the game.” Dahyun poked her head out after debating whether to interrupt your moment.

Wanting to tease his daughter, Dongyoung smirked. He stepped away from you, then gently held your face into his hands. Before you could question what he was up to, he kissed you, making sure to make a sound when he pulled away. Then, to finish off his performance, he grabbed your hands and spun you into a dip. Again, he kissed you and ended it with a smooching sound.

“My darling, you are-”

“Get a room!” Dahyun shrieked and ran back inside with her hands over her eyes. She nearly crashed into the wall but managed to find her way. You and Dongyoung could hear Dongbin asking his sister what happened, but she would only scream every time he would try.

Helping you stand on your feet, you looked over to Dongyoung and shook your head at the grin plastered on his face. You chuckled.

“Until when will you let the two of them live?”

He hummed, thinking about it. “Well, since we promised ourselves to each other for the rest of our lives, I suppose never. They’ll just have to watch us be lovey-dovey forever.”

You rolled your eyes and scoffed as he pulled you into a hug.

“Imagine what the younger you would’ve said had he heard you say that just now.”

“He would’ve cringed as much as the younger you would have,” He said with a kiss on your forehead.

“That’s for sure.”


	2. Chapter 2

Today was supposed to be the day Dahyun and Dongbin left for college. You and Dongyoung were supposed to drive the twins to the campus to drop them off. Then, have a teary goodbye because the both of you never could contain your tears. That was how it was supposed to be. But somehow, that didn’t happen.

“Hyun! Hyun! Wake up already! Stupid sister, wake up!” Dongbin’s voice kept going in and out of volume. Dahyun let out a groan and rolled over onto her side.

“Bin bin, go away. I want five more minutes to sleep.” She grabbed on what was supposed to be her blanket but felt nothing. Even though she was barely awake, she knew something was wrong. She frowned as she felt around for her pillow, but it wasn’t there either.

Slowly opening her eyes, she looked for Dongbin. Once she saw him, she finally felt the tight grip of his hands on her arms. Blinking a few times to adjust to the light, Dongbin’s face came into view. He didn’t look well.

“Wha-”

“You need to get up now!” Dongbin shook his sister in urgency, not helping her confusion. She clicked her tongue and headbutted him. Rubbing her head, she glared at her brother who was glaring right back at her while rubbing his head.

“Shaking me first thing in the morning won’t help me wake up faster, stupid.”

Dongbin rolled his eyes and sat down in front of his sister. She sighed. It seemed like she didn’t have a grasp of the situation yet.

“Hyun.”

“What?” She groaned and scratched her neck, agitated. Dongbin was acting weird, especially with the way he called her name so softly. Almost as if he was afraid.

“I need you to look around and tell me what you see.”

“Huh?”

“Please.”

“We’re in our house, why do I need to-” Her voice trailed off once she looked behind her brother’s head. What was once a beautiful mural she drew out of boredom was now filled with wall insulation. They were sitting in her unfinished room. Her bottom lip quivered, and her hand shook as she tried to point at the wall. She then dared to look around much to her horror. “Bin bin, where are we?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Dahyun screamed, grabbing onto his sleeve.

“It means I don’t know! I’m just as lost as you are!” Dongbin cried. “I woke up and saw the same thing you did!”

As the twins stared at each other, the truth was starting to settle in. They were afraid. Terrified.

“L-Let’s go see if we can go find our parents. Yeah, they’ll know what’s going on,” Dahyun nodded, repeating it to reassure them. She didn’t want to accept it and hoped it wasn’t true. But the more she said it, the more her legs shook. She was barely able to stand up because of how bad she was shaking. She tapped Dongbin’s shoulder as an indication to get up and follow her. But he grabbed her wrist to stop her.

“Hyun,” He said in a small voice. Dahyun’s breath hitched, clenching her hand. She hoped he wasn’t going to say what she feared most. Though, it seemed the universe was against them. “They’re not here.”

Dahyun’s legs gave out and she collapsed beside her brother. Dongbin tightly grabbed onto her sleeve as his tears welled up in his eyes. His sister instantly pulled him into a hug and patted his back. Despite being terrified and confused, she at least wanted to ease her brother’s fear.

She had so many questions. She wanted to know what was going on and why they were here. Where you and Dongyoung were instead of by their sides.

“For now, we have to leave.”

“But what about our parents?” Dongbin sniffled.

“I’m sure they’re okay. We need to get to safety first, then we can meet up with them later if we can,” Dahyun said after wiping his tears away with her sleeves. She then offered her hand. “Can you get up?”

“Mn.”

“All right. Let’s get out of here.”

The two of them quickly made their way out of the house, avoiding looking back. They knew if they looked further, it would only upset them. So, they kept their focus on getting out the door.

When they stepped outside, everything looked the same. It was the same neighborhood they grew up in. They let out sighs of relief. At least, they weren’t in an unfamiliar place. 

Looking left and right, the twins opted to head towards the city. They wanted to get away as far as possible from this place.

Thankfully, the restaurant they often stopped by after school existed in this world, so they went inside. They greeted the owner and sat themselves down, occasionally glancing at the man who looked a lot younger than they had known.

Dahyun thought nothing about it once she was handed the menu. Meanwhile, Dongbin couldn’t keep his eyes off the man. His legs bounced up and down underneath the table as he bit down on his thumb. There was something about this that was too weird. It made him uneasy.

“Hey, Hyun. Doesn’t it bother you that old man An is not,” His voice trailed off. “Old man An.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Dahyun was immersed in the menu to comprehend what he was asking. He sighed and hung his head.

“Hyun.”

Irritated, she waved him off. Rolling his eyes, he pushed down the menu. This finally caught her attention.

“We are in a dire situation and all you care about is food right now? Seriously?” 

But he was mistaken. Dahyun wasn’t as calm as she let on. Her nail rapidly tapped against the table and she couldn’t stop looking around. Dongbin placed his hand over hers, then squeezed it. When their eyes met, she visibly relaxed. She mumbled a thank you.

Taking a deep breath, Dahyun gathered herself. “All right. Let’s figure out what’s going on right now. What do we know?”

“Everything is the same as our world with a few differences here and there. We both woke up in our house, but it wasn’t our house. Our parents are missing and Old man An isn’t an old man.”

“Right. So, my next question is how is it possible for him to not be old?”

“Well, are we sure it’s even him?”

“Of course, that’s him. Unless he had a son we don’t know about.”

Dongbin scoffed. “Are you kidding? That man scared away every suitor his mother sent to his doorstep. It’s not possible for him to have a secret child.”

“Hm, you’re right.”

While Dahyun was deep in thought, Dongbin looked around for possible clues as to what was going on. Then, he saw it. His eyes widened. 

“H-Hey, Hyun.”

“What is it now?” She sighed as he repeatedly nudged her hand. 

His fingers shook when he tried to point. Hanging on the wall by the door was a calendar that Old man An hated changing until one of his employees scolded him for it. Staring at them was the 2021 calendar.

They looked between that and the owner multiple times until it sunk in. They had traveled back to the year 2021. By accident.

“Bin bin.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“Uh-huh.”

“So, I’m not crazy when I say that we’re in 2021, right?”

“Nu-uh.”

“How the hell did we go back in time?” She exclaimed, shaking the table as she slammed her hands down. Dongbin was at a loss as much as she was.

“Oi, is there a problem here?” Young An came over, frowning at the commotion the two of them caused. Even though they were the only customers in his shop, he didn’t appreciate them destroying his things. Dahyun nervously laughed and sat down.

“No. No problem here.”

“Please refrain from taking your anger out in my restaurant. If you’d like, I can recommend you a place to get some help.”

His comment made the twins turn away to hide their snickering. Even at this young age, An was still the same blunt person they knew.

“Sorry about that, owner. It won’t happen again.”

An sighed. “Aside from your outburst, would the two of you like to order anything?”

They looked at each other, then back at the owner. They smiled and nodded. Since they had been here countless times, they knew what they wanted without looking at the menu. But because of their situation, they checked it over just in case they caused a problem with the future.

Fortunately, the menu wasn’t any different from their time, so they ordered their usual. When An grabbed the menus from them, the twins couldn’t help but stare. Weirded out by their gaping mouths and intense gaze, he frowned.

“Is there something else I can help you with?” He asked, which brought them out of their thoughts. They gasped, then looked away and shook their heads. 

“Sorry, you just look like someone we knew-I mean know!” Dahyun nervously laughed. An raised an eyebrow but didn’t question further.

“All right, then.” An walked away from the table, still unsure about the two of them. But he wasn’t one to get into other’s business, so he let it be.

The twins let out sighs of relief once he went into the kitchen and they were left alone.

“Well, after seeing An up close, we can confirm that we definitely traveled back to 2021.” Dongbin nodded.

“But why? How?”

“I don’t know about the how, but as for the why, maybe it’s punishment for not believing our parents when they said they hated each other.”

Dongbin and Dahyun looked at each other, then laughed. There was no reason for them to be sent back in time for that silly argument. Right? Their laughter died down as the possibility sunk in.

“Okay, but what if-”

Dahyun groaned as she held her head, stopping him from saying anything more. It was the only logical explanation, but it seemed too petty of the universe to do that to them. All because they didn’t believe.

“Hyun. I know we both think it sounds stupid, but maybe we really should consider it a possibility as to why we’re back here. Maybe we’re meant to find our parents and you know, set things right by helping them get together. Then, we can go home.”

“That’s too many maybe’s and I don’t like it!” Dahyun whined. “The universe said here, see for yourselves since you didn’t believe your parents. Then, did it quite literally!”

Dongbin’s eyes softened as he reached out to pat his sister on the head. 

“Now, we’re stuck in 2021 with no idea where their younger selves are! We don’t know what we’re supposed to be doing and nobody can help us! Is this what the real adult world is like? If it is, I want to go home! Oh, wait! We don’t have one!”

“Hyun, calm down.” Dongbin frowned, grabbing her wrists, and pulling her down to sit. Dahyun let out a frustrated sigh and tapped her fingers against the table, thinking. “Let’s think about this rationally.”

“Fine. First, we’re going to have to secure a place to sleep and rest before we can even consider finding our parents.”

“I can’t believe you’re only focused on food and sleep right now,” Dongbin sighed, but let her continue.

“Problem is, we don’t have any money. What are we going to do?”

“Wait. What about Grandpa and Grandma L/N?”

“What about them?”

“Maybe we can go to them for help. They live nearby, don’t they?”

Dahyun gasped and grabbed Dongbin’s face into her hands, squishing his cheeks together. She grinned at him as he suffered through yet another sign of her sisterly affection.

“You’re a genius, Bin bin!”

“I know.”

“Once we manage to convince grandpa and grandma L/N to let us stay, we can start working on a plan to get our parents together! Then, boom! We can go home!” She laughed and clapped her hands together right when An came by with their food. “Let’s eat quickly and get going, Bin bin.”

Even though he trusted his sister, he wasn’t sure how much of it was going to be easy let alone work out. What happens if they can't get back in time? What happens if they can’t get their parents to get along? 

Shaking those thoughts of his mind, Dongbin began to eat, afraid he’d lose out of An’s cooking because of his twin’s appetite. 

Dahyun noticed her brother’s behavior and glanced at him. She knew what he was thinking. It was written all over his face. That was why she wanted to try her best to reassure him by thinking of a plan. She was definitely going to bring all of them home.

Once they finished eating, they paid and thanked An for the meal. He was taken back by their behavior but found it a little endearing. With one last thank you to the man, the twins ran out the door and to their grandparents’ house.

“Okay. So, when we get there, please remember the whole ‘don’t do anything out of line or you’ll change the past,’” Dongbin lectured Dahyun on their way.

“Right, we have to keep that in mind.”

“No, you have to keep that in mind. You’re too impulsive sometimes and I don’t want-”

“I got it already. I’m not going to do anything stupid.”

Dongbin looked at her and she rolled her eyes.

“Willingly. I won’t do anything stupid willingly, especially when our very existence is on the line.” He still found it difficult to believe her. Shaking his head and mumbling his worries, Dahyun was baffled by her insensitive brother.

Eventually, after a lot of bickering, the twins reached their grandparents’ house. As they looked up at the home, they realized it hadn’t changed at all. It was the same in their time and that soothed their hearts.

Dahyun then turned to Dongbin. “Let me handle this. You can sit back and relax, okay?”

He sighed.

“Please just don’t mess it up.”


	3. Chapter 3

Staring up at the house they visited so many times in the past, an overwhelming feeling of relief came over the twins. The heavy weight they had been carrying ever since they arrived in this time period was finally lifted off their chests. Their emotions got the best of them and tears welled up in their eyes. Dahyun looked over at Dongbin who couldn’t help but smile with joy. She laughed, wiping away her tears.

“Well, Bin bin. We’ve made it,” Dahyun sighed.

“Yeah, we’ve made it,” He repeated, biting back tears.

Everything about the house looked the same as it did in their time. Not a single thing was different. It brought them comfort knowing that at least this was something that would stay a constant.

After some time of the twins marveling over the house, Dongbin broke the silence.

“Hey, Hyun. We should probably go ring the doorbell before we get reported for standing outside their house and staring like complete weirdos. Then again, we could say it’s our grandparents’ house who don’t know they’re our grandparents-”

“Bin bin,” Dahyun sternly said and he raised his hands in surrender.

“Yes, yes.”

Now that they were here, the twins had to make contact with their grandparents. But neither of them was willing to take the first step. Suddenly, the door seemed so intimidating to approach.

“Hyun, you do it.” Dongbin pushed Dahyun towards the house, making her stumble over her feet. She glared at him over her shoulder. Nice to know that if they were ever in danger, he would sacrifice for his own safety without hesitation.

They made eye contact and he gave her a thumbs up. Her eyes narrowed.

“Fine,” She grumbled, giving in. Taking a deep breath, she mentally prepared herself for what was to come. Dongbin came up from behind and held onto the back of his sister’s shirt. He gulped when they looked at each other and nodded.

Then, they started walking up the path. With every step, Dahyun’s heartbeat sounded louder in her ears and the grip on her shirt tightened. This was more nerve wracking than they imagined.

After dragging their feet up the path, they were face to face with the door. Dahyun took a deep breath before knocking on the door. Only, her fist never made contact and hung mid-air. 

Looming thoughts overtook her mind. What would they do if their grandparents don’t believe them and they end up getting reported for trespassing? If that were to happen, that meant they wouldn’t ever be able to go back to their time. They had no one else to rely on but their grandparents.

Dongbin tugged on Dahyun’s shirt, bringing her out of her thoughts. She turned her head to look at him.

“Hyun, are you going to-”

“Yeah, just give me a minute.” Dahyun frowned and turned back to the door, biting down on her lip. Dongbin stepped back and ducked behind her to himself.

Giving herself a pep talk, she brought her hand to the door and knocked before she backed out of it. Then, they stepped back to put distance between them and the door. They waited a minute. Two minutes. Three minutes went by.

“What if they’re not home?” Dongbin asked and looked around their surroundings. He was worried about how long they’ve been standing out here. Any longer and someone should be reporting them to the police any second now.

“Would you relax?” Dahyun checked her watch, then looked back at the door. “Grandma L/N should be home right now, but I wonder where she is.”

“She could be in the garden.”

“Yeah, but we can’t exactly waltz into the backyard because then, we’ll really be trespassers.”

“But what if-”

“No.”

Before the twins could start arguing over Dongbin’s idiotic plan to sneak into the garden, the front door violently swung open. The twins flinched. A woman with dirt smeared all over her hands and face appeared before them. The enraged look in her eyes made the twins step back to put space in between them. They knew she hated when someone interrupted her whenever she was gardening. She took it very seriously.

“What do you want?” She hissed when her gaze met the twins. Dahyun nervously laughed, then gulped when her eyes narrowed in annoyance. Meanwhile, Dongbin hid himself behind his sister.

“Oh! Um, hi there!”

“Hello.” Their grandmother raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms as she leaned against the doorway. She had a feeling things were going to take an unexpected turn.

Dongbin looked between Dahyun and their grandmother, then pulled on Dahyun’s sleeve when she didn’t say anything. Her mouth hung open as she racked her mind for something to say. But she didn’t know what would be convincing enough for their grandmother to let them inside. They didn’t think this far.

“Are you going to just stand there, occupying my doorway, or are you going to tell me why you’re here, occupying my doorway?” Their grandmother questioned.

“Well, you see. The thing is-” Dahyun stuttered, avoiding eye contact. She looked around and spotted a nearby house that was sold. How lucky. She let out a gasp, then cleared her throat. She turned back to face her grandmother. “We just moved in over there and we thought we’d drop by to say hi, so hello!”

Dahyun nervously laughed through gritted teeth and waved away the awkwardness. Surely, anyone could see how unconvincing that story was. Even she had a hard time believing it herself.

Their grandmother blinked at the twins, unamused. Then, she let out a sigh and pushed herself off the wall. She walked inside, then gestured for them to come inside.

“Come on in.”

Dahyun and Dongbin looked at each other, bewildered. Did that actually work?

“Well?”

“C-Coming!”

The twins followed their grandmother inside to the living room. After telling them to sit down on the couch, she excused herself to get them a drink and snacks. They nodded and slowly sat down, eyes darting everywhere. Relief and excitement bubbled in their chests from seeing their memories with every detail in the room.

“Hyun,” Dongbin whispered.

“Mm?” Dahyun replied, still basking in the familiarity.

“Please don’t mess this up.”

Her head whipped to him, offended at his lack of trust. “I got this. Don’t worry.”

He internally groaned. They were doomed. Whenever she said that, there was a fifty-fifty chance of things working out. Them sitting here on the couch was out of pure luck.

“Do you?”

“Of course, I do!” She hissed, checking to make sure their grandmother didn’t overhear or walk in on their conversation. She huffed. “I know what I’m doing, okay? When have I ever been wrong?”

He opened his mouth to argue when their grandmother walked in. Out of instinct, they straightened their backs and placed their hands on their knees. She didn’t question it as she placed the food tray on the coffee table. Then, she sat down with her hanging over the top of the couch and crossed her legs.

“Please, help yourselves.”

The way she was sitting and how she conducted herself intimidated the twins. With trembling hands, they reached for their drinks and immediately sat back. She smiled and gestured for them to take a sip, which helped to make them relax a bit.

“So, you two just moved in,” She said.

“Y-Yes, ma’am,” Dongbin answered.

“Is it the two of you or are you living with relatives?”

“Just me and him. Our relatives are-” Dahyun paused. “In a faraway place.”

Dongbin looked at her and she shrugged. It was close enough to the truth, right? They turned back to their grandmother who didn’t say anything but instead, stared at them. They forced a smile.

“Hm, I see,” She said after some time. “Well, if you’re ever in need of anything, you’re welcome to come over anytime.”

“Really? Thank you!” Dahyun beamed. “It’s our first time living alone, so we apologize in advance for bothering you.”

“It’s no problem.”

The twins looked at each other and smiled. They managed to gain their grandmother’s trust somehow, which meant they were one step closer to going home. Or at least, that was what they believed.

“But you know, I thought you weren’t due to move in for another month,” Their grandmother said behind her hand.

“Eh?”

Her gaze pierced through their souls as their eyes widened. She continued to explain.

“The people who live in that house haven’t moved out and yet, you two have already moved in. Isn’t that such an interesting thing?” She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. Their throats went dry. “So, want to tell the truth now?”

Dahyun and Dongbin hesitated. They didn’t know how to argue her statement.

“We’re-” Dongbin began to apologize, but Dahyun cut him off.

“Okay, fine. We’re your grandchildren!”

“Dahyun!” Dongbin exclaimed, grabbing onto her sleeve.

“I panicked, okay?” She whined and facepalmed. She knew she messed up, but it was the only thing she could come up with on the spot. They were already busted, might as well tell the truth.

“Excuse me?” Their grandmother’s eyes narrowed.

Dahyun sighed and hung her head as she explained the situation. “Dongbin and I came from the future where we’re your grandchildren. Somehow, we wounded up in the past and we thought we’d come here for help since we didn’t know where else to go.”

Out of everything that happened today, this was the least expected thing their grandmother thought she would have to sit through. She was left speechless.

“And I’m supposed to believe you?” Doubt still clouded her mind.

“Kind of?” Dahyun nervously laughed, scratching the back of her neck. Their grandmother let out a sigh.

“That’s a big claim you’ve made, child. I don’t know if I can so foolishly believe in it so easily.”

“Ah. Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

They were in a bind. What were they to do now?

“What if we told you something only we know?” Dongbin asked and Dahyun gasped. She turned to her brother and nodded, giving him a thumbs up. He smirked.

She scoffed, amused at the idea. “What would you know about me? It can be coincidence that you guessed something of mine.”

“We know you have a little wooden chest hidden in the back of your closet, under a pile of your old clothes,” Dahyun said, which grabbed her attention.

“And whenever he’s not home, you like to look through that wooden chest full of every love letter and trinket grandpa has ever given you,” Dongbin continued.

“How,” She whispered. “Do you know that?”

Nobody in the house knew she did this when she was alone. She made sure it was never to be known. And yet, here these two were.

Dahyun and Dongbin looked at each other, then back at her with smiles on their faces.

“Because you brought us up there once and told us how you and grandpa came to be. All the countless times you fell in love with him. Even when he embarrassed himself in front of the whole school by making a grand romantic gesture, only to end up cleaning a whole field full of flowers by himself in the rain,” Dongbin said.

She laughed and shook her head at the fond memory. “He always was a hopeless romantic, maybe too much of one.”

“But that’s what you love about him.” Dahyun giggled as the twins reminisced on all the stories they were told.

Looking at them, she realized that they mirrored a few of your mannerisms. They resembled you in some way in terms of personality as well. Adding in the fact that they knew her secret. Maybe, just maybe there was a chance they were her grandchildren.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to collect her thoughts. She had to be careful about this. For now, she was going to believe them and give them the benefit of the doubt. She needed to find out more about them.

“All right,” She said, interrupting their conversation. They turned to face her and sat up straight, clearing their throats. “I’ll believe you. For now.”

“That’s fine! That’s all we ask for!” Dahyun beamed, then ran to embrace her in a long-awaited hug. She buried her head in the crook of her neck and squeezed her tight.

Not wanting to be left out, Dongbin pulled them into a bone-crushing hug. They burst out laughing with tears brimming in their eyes. It was the familiar warmth of their grandmother and it brought them utter joy.

Hesitantly, their grandmother wrapped her arms around the children to accept their hug. Then, it hit her all at once. When her hands made contact with their skin, she felt a tingle run through each finger. Tears fell down her cheeks as a wave of emotions overtook her. Her body was filled with an unexplainable feeling and she had the urge to hold them tight. To never let them go. So, she did. She pulled them close to her chest and embraced this strange feeling.

Feeling her emotions traveling to them, they couldn’t help but get emotional. As they held her tighter, their tears flowed down onto her shoulder. They wailed her name in relief.

“Grandma!”


End file.
